ETERNAL SONSHIP

ETERNAL SONSHIP

“And when all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, that God may be all in all.” 1 Cor. 15:28

This passage certainly does not teach that the personality of the Son will ever cease. When His redeeming work is finally complete He will resume absolute sovereignty in the mystery of the Trinity. When He emptied Himself it was in order to redeem, and only as the Son of Man will He be subjected. For redemption the Servant reigns. The final subjection will be that of the passing of the Servant relationship which began in Phil 2:6.

 In John 14:28 Jesus said something which must not be as expressing all truth. Our Lord did say, "My Father is greater than I," but did He not also say in John 14:9, "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father?" By bringing these two together you touch the mystery of identity and difference. Moreover, the declaration, "My Father is greater than I," must be interpreted by the whole context, where He was speaking of the witness of God to Himself, as a teacher employing human speech, and needing verification. The term "Son" does not necessarily imply inferiority, for in using it of our Lord we must cancel the limitations of time. Eternal Fatherhood and Eternal Sonship are both terms which break through the limitations of finite things and leave us in the realm of mystery. The Son is to be subject to the Father only in the sense in which He was the Servant of the Father, accomplishing a mission, after the completion of which God becomes all in all.